Vehicle-brake



PATENTED JAN. 26, 1904.

A. M. LEDBBTTER.

VEHICLE BRAKE. APPLICATION FILED sErm'zs, 1903.

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No. 750,378. I PATBNTED JAN. 26,1904.

A. M. LEDBETTER.

VEHICLE BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented January 26, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

VEHICLE-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 750,378, dated January 26, 1904.

Application filed September 26, 1903. Serial No. 174,781. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. LEDBETTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vixen, in the parish of Caldwell, State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Brakes; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to vehicle-brakes, and more particularly to the segment and its cooperating means for holding the brake-lever at different points of its adjustment, the ohject of the invention being to provide a construction wherein the usual notches will be omitted from the segment, so that a more delicate adjustment may be effected, and in which the strain on the brake-shoes tending to throw them off from the wheels will cause the holding means to grip the segment more tightly.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a wagon equipped with a brake mechanism embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the segment, its supporting-brackets, the brake-lever, and the latch-lever, the loop of the latter encircling the segment being shown in section. Fig. 4 is an edge view of the brake-lever. Fig: 5 is a detail view of one of the links connecting the brake-rod with the latch-lever.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a wagon comprising a body 10, having wheels 11, and in connection with the rear Wheels of which body is employed a brake mechanism. The brake mechanism includes a beam 7, having shoes 8 at its ends, the brakebeam being connected to a transverse lever 8 by means of a rod 9 at one end of the lever, while extending from the opposite end of the lever is a rod 10.

Attached to the side of the wagon-body is a bracket comprising the upwardly-diverging arms 11 and 12, to the ends of which are attached the ends of a smooth segment 13, which is held with its chord horizontal. At the angle of the arms of the bracket is pivoted the handlever or brake-lever 14, which extends upwardly and abovethe segment 13 and at one side of the latter. disposed over the segment 13 at the opposite side thereof from the lever 14 and its extremities are turned outwardly and riveted or otherwise attached to the lever 14, so that as said lever is rocked on its pivot or fulcrum it is held against movement away from the segment.

A latch-lever 16 is provided and is disposed longitudinally of the lever 14 and against the same side of the segment 13, and secured against the opposite face of the latch-lever 16 is a U-shaped plate 17 similar to the plate 15 and which fits the segment rather closely. The lever 14 is pivoted concentric with the segment 13, so that the plate 15 does not bind the segment in any position of the lever. The lever 16 is connected with the lever 14 at a point between the fulcrum of thelever 14 and the segment '13 by means of links 18, which are pivoted to opposite sides of the lovers, and the lever 16 being thus pivoted eccentric to the segment 13 its plate 17 will bind against the upper and lower edges of the segment 13 when the upper end of said lever is swung away from the lever 14. Pivoted to the lower end of the lever 16 below the links 18 are links 19, which pass at opposite sides of the lever 14, and in which links are perforations which receive a bolt 20, that passes through a perforation 21 in the lever 14 and through the forked ends of the rod 10, which embrace the lever 14. The perforation 21 through the lever 14 is elongated transversely of said lever, so that the lever 16 may have a slight rocking movement, at which time the bolt plays in the perforation 21.

In the operation of the brake mechanism the levers 14 and 15 are grasped at their upper ends and brought together by swinging the lever 16 on its pivot, thus freeing its plate 17 from the segment 13. The lever 14 is then operated to draw the brake-rods and set the brake. When the brake has been set to the proper degree, the lever 16 is released, and the return strain of the rod 10, owing to the tendency of the brake-shoe to leave the wheels, serves to A U-shaped plate 15 is swing the lever 16 on its pivotal connection with the links 18, so that the upper and lower sides of the plate 17 are caused to tightly hug the corresponding edges of the segment, it being understood that the tightness of this hugging or gripping will increase as the strain on the brakes increases, so that the greater the power required to hold the brakes in operative positions the more securely they will be thus held. When it is desired to release the brakes, it is only necessary to draw the lever 16 slightly-toward the lever 14, when the plate 17 will slip along the segment.

What is claimed is The combination with a brake-beam, of a hand-lever, a segment with respect to which the hand-lever is concentrically pivoted, a latch-lever having gripping-jaws disposed above and below the segment and in close relation thereto, links pivoted to the latch-lever adjacent to its lower end and to the handlever at a point between its fulcrum and the segment for movement of the latch-lever with its jaws into and out of engagement with the segment, said hand-lever having aperforation therethrough below said links, additional links pivoted to the latch-lever below the firstnamed links and lying at opposite sides of the hand-lever, a brake-rod connected with the brake-beam at one end and having its opposite end bifurcated and embracing the lastnamed links, and a bolt passed through the bifurcated portion of the brake-rod, the lastnamed link and the perforation of the handlever, said bolt having movement in said perforation laterally of the lever sufiicient to permit of movement of the latch-lever with its jaws into and out of engagement with the segment.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT M. LEDBETTER.

Witnesses:

K. W. FORD, J'. O. DORTOH. 

